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One form of homeostasis is thermoregulation. Body temperature varies in every individual, but the average internal temperature is 37.0 °C (98.6 °F). [1] Sufficient stress from extreme external temperature may cause injury or death if it exceeds the ability of the body to thermoregulate.
Children younger than four years old and adults older than 65 are at a higher risk of serious heat illness due to impaired thermoregulation, even at rest, especially in hot and humid conditions without adequate cooling [20] Insufficient access to water, air conditioning, or other cooling methods [1]
A 2022 study on the effect of heat on young people found that the critical wet-bulb temperature at which heat stress can no longer be compensated, T wb,crit, in young, healthy adults performing tasks at modest metabolic rates mimicking basic activities of daily life was much lower than the 35 °C (95 °F) usually assumed, at about 30.55 °C (86 ...
As in other mammals, human thermoregulation is an important aspect of homeostasis. In thermoregulation, body heat is generated mostly in the deep organs, especially the liver, brain, and heart, and in contraction of skeletal muscles. [1] Humans have been able to adapt to a great diversity of climates, including hot humid and hot arid.
Behavioral thermoregulation takes precedence over physiological thermoregulation since necessary changes can be affected more quickly and physiological thermoregulation is limited in its capacity to respond to extreme temperatures. [34] When the core temperature falls, the blood supply to the skin is reduced by intense vasoconstriction. [18]
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation.
This is comparable to a common incandescent light-bulb. However, adult humans can produce in excess of 1,000 W (1.3 hp) of heat energy during strenuous exercise. [8] Hence, if the body were perfectly insulated, core temperature would continue to increase until lethal core temperatures were achieved.
Older adults, very young children, and those who are sick or overweight are at a higher risk for heat-related illness. [10] The chronically ill and elderly are often taking prescription medications (e.g., diuretics, anticholinergics, antipsychotics, and antihypertensives) that interfere with the body's ability to dissipate heat. [11]